Thanks to Thanksgiving

I am sitting in a coffee shop doing research. Actually doing research, too, not just playing around online -- most of the time. I decided to blog on my 10 minute break. Productive, right?

Blues music is playing in the background, and it's raining outside. I'm drinking an iced coffee and wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans, my favorite combo. I've already ran, I've already cleaned my house, and all that's left to do on my "to do" list is research. Which I actually enjoy. Especially when I've already completed four pages of my dissertation introduction. That's right. Because I'm awesome.

It's a great day.

I plan to spend most of my Christmas break in this coffee shop as well. Unlike my husband, I don't work well at home. I get distracted too easily -- something needs to be cleaned, something needs to be washed, the dog needs to be let out, etc. Something to do. The Internet, while it is captivating, is really not as much of a distraction to me. Plus, I enjoy the ambiance of the coffee shop.

This past Sunday, at the end of our lesson, I asked the people in our Sunday School class to name one thing they were thankful for. One thing. It was a hard task -- not because they couldn't think of something they were thankful for, but because just naming one thing is quite difficult. There are so many blessings God has given us -- all of us. If you woke up today, that's a blessing. Even if your circumstances in life right now aren't to your liking, you have a chance to change them. This could be the day everything goes right.

My heart overflows with thankfulness. This year had so many trials and so many ways where things could have gone oh, so terribly wrong. But God has been so generous to my family. My aunt is back home after undergoing chemo and radiation, and, for now, the cancer is gone! I have a new niece (technically, second cousin, but I will be "Aunt" lol!)! My husband has a wonderful job and has his master's degree! Heck, I'm ABD!

There are so many blessings, and I hope your life is filled with blessings and love this Thanksgiving. For some, this will not be a pleasant holiday, either due to crisis or circumstances or just things out of one's control. Hopefully Thanksgiving 2012 will be better, in that case.

Last night, our Sunday School class got together for a Thanksgiving dinner, and our young adult minister shared Psalm 100, which reads:

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.